Maersk Line, the container shipping unit of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk , said on Wednesday an economic recovery may lead to year-on-year volume growth in the fourth quarter for the industry.
The growth would be the first in a year for an industry that has suffered major losses as a plunge in world trade hit freight rates and volumes, and forced shipping firms to cut capacity and reduce headcount.
Jesper Praestensgaard, Maersk Line's CEO for Asia Pacific, said that container volumes have bottomed out and rates have started to rise as well, but the company and industry in general are still losing cash from some routes.
"We do see a recovery in shipping, but it is from an incredibly low level, so in my mind we have bottomed out," Praestensgaard told Reuters in an interview.
"We saw in the first few months of this year the market drop by close to 20 percent and we have seen an upturn since then but still a year-on-year decline. If we are lucky, then we could see growth on a year-on-year basis in the fourth quarter."
Maersk, the world's biggest container shipping line, swung into a bigger than expected first half loss in the first half of 3.02 billion Danish crowns <$577 million) as a result of the downturn, and has warned the second half could be as bad.
The growth would be the first in a year for an industry that has suffered major losses as a plunge in world trade hit freight rates and volumes, and forced shipping firms to cut capacity and reduce headcount.
Jesper Praestensgaard, Maersk Line's CEO for Asia Pacific, said that container volumes have bottomed out and rates have started to rise as well, but the company and industry in general are still losing cash from some routes.
"We do see a recovery in shipping, but it is from an incredibly low level, so in my mind we have bottomed out," Praestensgaard told Reuters in an interview.
"We saw in the first few months of this year the market drop by close to 20 percent and we have seen an upturn since then but still a year-on-year decline. If we are lucky, then we could see growth on a year-on-year basis in the fourth quarter."
Maersk, the world's biggest container shipping line, swung into a bigger than expected first half loss in the first half of 3.02 billion Danish crowns <$577 million) as a result of the downturn, and has warned the second half could be as bad.